UPDATE: Read it in his own words! Relive the horror of the road! Cringe as you hear all the gory details of near death and automotive crunchiness, here at Pharyngula!

Myers, trapped in remote region, unable to blog.

UPDATE: Myers has been picked up from the scene by rescue vehicle dispatched from Morris, and is now en route to Saint Cloud airport. where he will take flight to Michigan. Pharyngula readers await direct word from Myers, who may be able to blog from airport.

Approximate Location of Car Wreck

University of Minnesota, Morris, Biology Professor and Science Blogger (Pharyngula) PZ Myers was in a car accident this morning while traveling across a remote prairie region of Minnesota heading for an airport. The wreck was apparently caused by snowy conditions. Myers suffered only minor injuries from flying glass, but his car seems to be totaled. As of this writing, Myers is waiting to be rescued by his wife. Myers has taken refuge in a diner in Glenwood Minnesota. This Glenwood diner, and it would seem likely, other venues in Glenwood, do not have wireless internet connections, so Myers, who has been reporting his plight on his twitter account, has been unable to blog.

There were no major storms in the region at the time of the accident, but several freak snow squalls were reported in the area and can be seen on radar records. From an insurance perspective, this will probably be considered an Act of God. Which is funny.

Has M-Dot checked the road yet for signs of communion wafers strewn about the road? And according to Catholic superstition, I mean “Doctrine”, after Teh Miracle of Transubstantiation, the wafers turn into the Body and Blood Of Jesus Christ, and those blood and guts on the roads are damn slippery…

PZ updates:
* Thanks to the heroic efforts of the indispensable Trophy Wife, I am now at the airport and will make it to Michigan in time! Huzzah! (about 12:30 Minnesota time)
* Still finding broken glass in strange places. Took off my shoes for airport security, and scattered glittery bits all over the conveyer belt (about 12:35)
* Things are looking up: snagged an exit row window seat for the plane. (about 13:00 Minnesota time)

Indeed…just like the plane landing in the Potomac, it’s a MIRACLE he wasn’t injured! Praise the Lord!

Of course the one that landed on the Potomac a number of years ago went right through to the bottom. It was the one that landed on the Hudson that was awesome because, as Sully said, he didn’t waste his time praying.

As a small correction, most insurance companies now prefer to use the phrase “Act of Nature” in their policies, as it can be deemed applicable, rather than null and void, to policyholders who hold no conception of “God.”

Based on PZ’s description, I don’t think that was snow, AKA “Evil White Stuff”. This sounds like the work of black ice, perhaps with a smattering of snow on it, but it’s the ice that makes things go bad.

I did have a similar experience earlier this year, with the car going for about a block against my will. But there was no truck at the end of the line or any other object to hit. So I did a U-turn and went back the other way just for fun, and eventually after doing this a few times, turned into the driveway I had been missing again and again and again.

Based on PZ’s description, I don’t think that was snow, AKA “Evil White Stuff”. This sounds like the work of black ice, perhaps with a smattering of snow on it, but it’s the ice that makes things go bad.

oh, I bet there was snow! unless of course all that stuff just fell over my place and didn’t make it no Minnesota :-p

Snow? Almost April? Why do people live in this region, what did they do that caused them to be sent there?

Toby, I appreciate what you are saying, but a similar thing could be said in many different contexts about many different things. Yet we continue to have humor and tragedy right next to each other all the time. There is, in the end, very little that I could every say about anything if I accounted for every possible sensibility by keeping silent.

How about giving the reconstruction artist (me) some credit for this extremely popular picture that has been on the Flickr website since me and the kids created it in August 2005. Nearly 100,000 sick bastards have viewed it since then!

Driving in snowy weather is quite dangerous as the roads are not clearly visible. When the forecast predicts snow, the best way to avoid accidents is to avoid driving at all, at least until the roads have been cleared. However, if you must drive in the snow and ice, it is important to keep certain safety precautions in mind to reduce the risk of accidents.

If you skid do not attempt to brake; instead steer into the direction of the skid whilst gently releasing the accelerator pedal.
– Always drive slowly and carefully in particularly cold conditions; even if the road doesn’t look icy there may be black ice on the road’s surface.
– Leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front. The usual 2 second gap should be changed to at least a 10 second gap in icy conditions.

By Other Blog Is…: The X Blog

According to a source cited by NPR the Ferguson Police Department … violated the Constitution when it policed to raise money and with a racial bias toward African-Americans, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the report. The investigation, the source says, concluded that blacks were disproportionately targeted by the police and the justice […]

“Please Don’t Paint Our Planet Pink!: A Story for Children and their Adults” is a new children’s book by Gregg Kleiner about global warming. The idea is simple. Imagine if you could see CO2? In the book, it is imagined to be pink. The imagining takes the form of a quirky father, one imagines him […]

“You can believe the United States Navy or you can believe the Senator with the snowball.” “You can believe the Pope or you can believe the Senator with the snowball.” “We can believe [great American corporations] or we can believe the Senator with the snowball.” “You can believe every single major American scientific society, or […]